This is a very interesting topic for me because I am currently in a union, but do not participate in any of the decision making. OSU University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS) full time staff are able to join a union known as SEIU 503, which negotiates with the university for cost of living raises, benefits and other important issues. I am not extremely involved in the union and choose not to pay dues since I am not involved. However, I still benefit from the work they do since it negotiates raises and benefits for my position. They also helped negotiate for better working conditions during both the fires last September and the COVID-19 pandemic. During the fires, they negotiated to get hazard pay for all employees working during the days of intense smoke exposure. During the pandemic, they negotiated for split working schedules to avoid interaction between different groups of people.
Union Research
Depending on the group you are talking to, there are many different opinions on the pros and cons of unions and whether or not they should be allowed. Some of the pros include providing worker protections, negotiating for higher wages and better benefits, setting economic trends and advancing political causes (Stevenson, 2020). Historically, unions have set up many worker protections from harm and ensured that they have wages that are fair and benefits that are important to them. They also set economic trends because their actions can start trends that other companies eventually follow, such as creating weekends. They also allow for political organizing and support of political campaigns and issues with their members. These pros are similar to what was expressed in the lecture; it was also mentioned that some employees may feel better joining a union because they know that someone is looking out for them and that they do not have to advocate on their own (Swift, 2021). Some of the cons of unions include requiring fees, discouraging individuality, making it more difficult to promote and terminate employees and driving up the costs for employers (Stevenson, 2021). Many employees do not want to pay extra fees to unions from their paycheck, making it challenging for unions to get the money they need to function. Unions can also decrease individuality because they may represent a stance on an issue for the employees as a whole, but not everyone may agree with it. On the side of the company, unions make it more challenging to terminate and promote employees because they may add more stipulations to the requirements for promoting and terminating. They also can be costly for the company since the items they are bargaining for may cost a lot of money to implement. This is similar to what the lectures and materials for the week stated as well. There have also been cases that I have heard from other friends and family about unions maligning the company or supervisors they work with, causing them to look bad and hurting relations between the union and the company. An acquaintance of mine was a CEO at a local hospital, and a union he worked with took every chance to trash his character to the media and employees when he was trying to make things work between them and come to agreement that was fair for everyone.
Key Takeaways
Unions have accomplished many things for workers in our country, which I am grateful for. I cannot imagine a world without weekends. However, they can also be very costly for employers and cause tension in some workplaces. If they are demanding things that the employer feels like they cannot or should not provide, the employer may feel very frustrated and like they cannot please the union. Perhaps the key takeaway is to examine the union at the job you are in before you join and learn more about their practices. This would allow you to make an informed decisions about joining or participating in union activities.
References
Stevenson, M. (2020, January 29). Pros and Cons of Labor Unions. HR Exchange Network. https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/hr-compensation-benefits/articles/pros-and-cons-of-labor-unions.
Swift, M. (2021). Introduction to Labor Relations. Week 8 Learning Materials. Corvallis; Oregon State University.
